Yesterday I had just gone through security at the Austin, Texas International Airport. As I was beginning to walk towards my gate, a man stopped me and said, “I know you, but you would not know me.” I said, “Okay.” He stated to me, “When you came before your church many years ago, you ate at the restaurant I worked at, and I offered to serve you and your wife our alcoholic special that day, ‘tequila,’ not knowing who you were.” I said, “oh.” I knew I had turned it down, obviously! He then apologized and stated, “But since that time my life has turned around, I met Christ, do public professional speaking, have a law degree, and even preach at times, being active in my church!” I said, “praise God, happy for you.” We continued to dialogue a few minutes and he had a delightful presence, obviously, touched by our Savior. The funny thing is that is was the Pastor Search Committee that took me to that reputable restaurant in downtown Fayetteville that weekend.

You see, God does amazing things in the lives of people – He changes people. Christ died on the cross for all sins. He changed this man’s life miraculously and he wanted to tell me about it as soon as he noticed me. Only Jesus can do that in someone’s life.

All of that was 23 years ago as we began our ministry here formally on the last Sunday in October. This event he was telling me about happened 23 years ago last weekend. Is that not amazing? It is just a reminder of all Christ does in the lives of people through the years. God is good. This is a God story.

It is a reminder to all of us, everywhere we go, God is in the process of creating stories. He is the business of changing lives, making stories that only He can receive credit. Praise God for His story.

There is no story like the Jesus story!

I came down to Texas yesterday to spend a couple of days with my Mom. She is recovering from surgery that removed fluid off of her heart. She is getting better slowly, so please pray for her. She has a long way to go. Linda, my sister, is taking care of her and we are most grateful. My brother Johnny and his wife, Delores, also are continually helping Linda take care of Mom. God is good to provide people to take care of her daily since he called me away from home all these years.

It was a beautiful day in Texas yesterday. Sunday was an absolutely wonderful day in Arkansas. I tell you folks, God is good and His creation is just absolutely special. Daily I stand amazed at the wonders of God.

I had a great conversation with Dr. Johnny Hunt yesterday afternoon. Oh friends, we are at a pivotal time in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention. We have seen God do some amazing things over these years, yet right now is one special moment. Dr. Hunt and I are committed to leading humbly before our God, seeking His will in all things. It is an honor to walk beside him in his presidency. I am grateful.

Friends, please know I am grateful for you. Look to Sunday, it will be a great day. Oh by the way, Coach Frank Broyles will be our Summit guest this Thursday – get tickets today.

My friends, God blessed this past Sunday as we shared about generosity. The Lord is working in our fellowship and through the lives of our people. This is no time for us to miss what God is doing, but join Him in it completely. I am so blessed by all God is doing and rejoice evermore.

Our new second service at Springdale was a smashing success as the initial 100-125 people advanced to 303 people on the first Sunday–May God be praised! What a tremendous “praise the Lord” and demonstration of faith. It appears the main service experienced a net increase over the same Sunday the year before, even with those people out of the service. Praise God! Pinnacle Hills was up as well, so the Lord gave us a great day.

Question for the week: How much more can I give? Please ask the Father, get with Him, let Him speak to your heart and increase your giving to our Ministry Budget this coming Sunday. Join Jeana and I in doing so as we have done each year. We must step up and give
in a way that will glorify the Lord.

God is going to continue doing great things this Sunday morning. Be present. Invite someone. Win someone to Christ this week. Be diligent
with your witness.

All for Jesus.

What a week it has been! After a long day on Sunday with all of our services and entertaining our guests, I spent an exhausting two days in Nashville talking about the Great Commission Resurgence. I returned on Tuesday and then led an ACTS 1:8 Celebration Dinner Banquet on Tuesday night. Yesterday at noon I spoke to our Guest Missionaries of our ACTS 1:8 Conference. Last night I was a part of the Acts 1:8 closing service, which was fabulous. God moved among His people. What a week!

Our Summit Business Persons Luncheon speaker today is Al Weiss, President of Worldwide Operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. What a privilege to have him with us. Without any doubt at all, he is one influential leader and what a great opportunity it will be to hear him. Call immediately for your tickets.

Sunday is coming and much is before us. We are looking for a great day, believing God wants to do great things among us. We begin our 10:55 a.m. additional worship service at the Springdale Campus. I believe that will be a great moment, so pray for those who are a part of that core group. This will open up more room for our 9:15 a.m. service at Springdale, so please bring others with you. These options will help us continue to advance.

See you Sunday.

Our Acts 1:8 Global Missions Conference has been a great success. I have been so pleased to hear of all God has done in the hearts of our people. From Sunday morning to evening to World Briefings to Shiloh Chapel Services to Connection Groups led by Missionaries to tonight’s banquet, it has all been a great praise to God. God is giving our church a greater heart for the world.

I have the privilege to minister to our missionaries at noon tomorrow, so pray for me. These 57 missionaries from 29 different ministries have been a blessing. Their encouragement to our lives has been great. Thank God for great men and women committed to the Great Commission.

Finally, Dr. Danny Akin is closing our ACTS 1:8 Conference tomorrow night at a 6:30 p.m. Worship Service held at our Springdale Campus. I pray God will use him greatly. Tonight will be Dr. Akin’s first time to preach since his major surgery. Please pray for him all day. Be here tonight at 6:30 p.m. God will use it in your life.

God, continue to give us a heart for the world.

Yesterday I spent the entire day in meetings in Nashville, Tennessee with leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention. Of course, all of these meetings were related to the Great Commission Resurgence.  My first meeting was with Dr. Morris Chapman, a long-term friend and co-worker in the gospel.  He is the President-CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.  I moved from there into a three-hour meeting where Dr. Johnny Hunt and I met with the Great Commission Council, which is comprised of the Heads of our 12 SBC national entities and boards. From there I moved into a three-hour meeting with some fellow brothers who are committed to the Great Commission Resurgence and seeing it happen in the SBC.  Following that, I moved into a dinner meeting for a couple of hours.

I concluded my night by attending the Executive Committee Meeting, where we heard  Dr. Morris Chapman inform Southern Baptists that he was announcing his retirement as of September 30, 2010. This news was a shock to most people, as Dr. Chapman has been in this position for eighteen years.  I was on the search committee that called Dr. Chapman to this position.  God has used him and I am grateful for his ministry to Southern Baptists.

These are unprecedented days in Southern Baptist life.  We now have openings in three of the most influential places in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention. The trustees of the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, and the Executive Committee will be searching for men to lead their massive ministries.  With the emphasis of the Great Commission Resurgence within our convention and the matters  we are charged to do, things are now happening in an unprecedented manner.  We must pray, get before God, and listen to Him for our directions for the future.

This morning, my public day after my quiet time and jog through downtown Nashville, will be a meeting with a man charged with an enormous assignment at this time in his life. We are going to spend some moments together just talking and discussing future matters.  Soon after, I will catch my flight home, and prepare to go to our ACTS 1:8 Banquet.  Another full day.

Please pray for today.  God is moving.

This morning I am flying to Nashville to meet about the Great Commission Resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention. At the invitation of the Chairman of the Great Commission Council, Dr. Johnny Hunt and I have been asked to meet with these leaders in SBC life.  The Great Commission Council is comprised of the leaders of our 12 major entities in SBC life like our mission boards, our seminaries, and others.

Today is a very important day as we meet with these men of God.  It is a time to dialogue together about the future of our denomination. I have great respect for these men and ask that you pray for us today.  Additionally, I have other meetings to attend this afternoon, then I will attend the formal meeting of the Plenary Session of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.  At this meeting, I will hear various reports from our leader, climaxing with a message from Dr. Johnny Hunt, President of the SBC.

My entire day is given to the Great Commission Resurgence.  My friends, we need you to pray.  I hope you will join me in asking God for wisdom, vision, clarity, and courage.  My heart is to do one thing:  what God wants us to do to expand His Kingdom around the world.  We want to see all the nations of the world hear of Christ.

Pastor Vance Pitman of the Hope Baptist Church of Las Vegas preached the stars down all day yesterday as we began our ACTS 1:8 Global Missions Conference. He is one great man of God and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with he and his wife, Kristie.  I cannot wait to visit his church in that city.  They are reaching 2,000 people weekly just after eight years from launching as a church.  He models successful church planting, and I learned much from him today.  What a dear brother.

Please participate with us all week in our ACTS 1:8 Conference.

Big news came on Wednesday from Dr. Jerry Rankin, President of the International Mission Board, with the announcement of his retirement in 2010. This board sends more missionaries around the world than any other missionary board in the world. Dr. Rankin is a true man of God and has done a superb job for Southern Baptists. In our last GCR meeting here in Northwest Arkansas, I asked Dr. Rankin to come in and speak to us about the lostness of the world. He did a fabulous job. This is a huge loss for Southern Baptists as he was a man who was passionate about the Great Commission. Dr. Jerry Rankin was a walking Great Commission Resurgence. We rejoice with Jerry and his wife over this new chapter in which they will enter in 2010, but they will be missed by this convention of churches. Pray for them and for the International Mission Board.

Big news came to my family on Tuesday afternoon with the announcement of my Mom having surgery scheduled for Wednesday. She has had fluid on her heart since March and the decision was made that surgery was needed to drain this fluid. The surgery was successful and she is in the hospital for up to four days. A couple of biopsies were also taken as they have never been able to find out the source of this fluid which concerns them and us greatly. Please pray for clarity to come on this issue and ultimately for healing to occur.

Big news will happen this Sunday through our Acts 1:8 Conference. You must engage with us on this four-day journey. The time is now for a major move of God in our church, so please make this a priority. Please investigate all that is going on beginning Sunday by just clicking here.

Big news is when someone comes to Christ . . . pray for Sunday . . . May the news be great!

Yesterday afternoon, I had the challenging responsibility of preaching the Memorial Service for 20-year-old Aaron Webster. Aaron’s life was taken through an automobile accident. While his family prayed at his side in the hospital for a miracle, it did not happen the way they had so prayed for it to happen. The miracles came through his death and I want to tell you about them.

Before I tell you about those miracles, I want to insure you understand that his family has confidence that Aaron knew Christ personally. Aaron is in heaven today. He is in the presence of God today. It was this assurance that calmed the broken hearts of Aaron’s parents, his fiancee, his two sisters and family. Being blessed with God’s peace about where he is today, let me tell you about the other miracles that happened through his death. Get ready: what a story!

Aaron was an organ donor. Ten percent or less of the people who give organs upon their death are able to give all that Aaron was able to give. Aaron was very special and in his death, God even affirmed that more. These miracles happened through Aaron’s death. When Aaron died, he gave much away and miraculously, all of the beneficiaries of his organ donations are progressing at this point.

What did he give to people?

*Aaron gave his heart to a 32-year-old man in Texas
*Aaron gave his liver to a 55-year-old man in Arkansas
*Aaron gave one lung to a 61-year-old man in Wisconsin
*Aaron gave one lung to 70-year-old man in Illinois
*Aaron gave one kidney to a 15-year-old girl in Arkansas
*Aaron gave one kidney to a 9-year-old boy in Arkansas
*Aaron gave intestine/pancreas to a 56-year-old man in Pennsylvania

Additionally, the corneas of his eyes will be placed soon and will give sight to the blind. Powerfully, grafts of his skin will provide skin grafts for 200 children who have suffered severe burn or accidents.

Therefore, all of these people have become beneficiaries of Aaron’s death. While this brings the Webster family comfort, their hearts still break with major pain as anyone’s would in the loss of a child.

His family shared with me the other day: “While we prayed by his side for a miracle, we did not get our miracle, but others did.” Yes, many others received their miracles through Aaron’s death. Sitting in Texas, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, there were individuals and families praying for a miracle. Yes, God gave them their miracle. May it all bring God glory in this deep moment of loss and sadness for Aaron’s family. I cannot even imagine the pain they must feel. May God give them the power to praise Him in the midst of this storm.

Thank God for miracles that can happen, even through death.

Yesterday afternoon, I had the challenging responsibility of preaching the Memorial Service for 20-year-old Aaron Webster. Aaron’s life was taken through an automobile accident. While his family prayed at his side in the hospital for a miracle, it did not happen the way they had so prayed for it to happen. The miracles came through his death and I want to tell you about them.

Before I tell you about those miracles, I want to insure you understand that his family has confidence that Aaron knew Christ personally. Aaron is in heaven today. He is in the presence of God today. It was this assurance that calmed the broken hearts of Aaron’s parents, his fiancee, his two sisters and family. Being blessed with God’s peace about where he is today, let me tell you about the other miracles that happened through his death. Get ready: what a story!

Aaron was an organ donor. Ten percent or less of the people who give organs upon their death are able to give all that Aaron was able to give. Aaron was very special and in his death, God even affirmed that more. These miracles happened through Aaron’s death. When Aaron died, he gave much away and miraculously, all of the beneficiaries of his organ donations are progressing at this point.
What did he give to people?

*Aaron gave his heart to a 32-year-old man in Texas
*Aaron gave his liver to a 55-year-old man in Arkansas
*Aaron gave one lung to a 61-year-old man in Wisconsin
*Aaron gave one lung to 70-year-old man in Illinois
*Aaron gave one kidney to a 15-year-old girl in Arkansas
*Aaron gave one kidney to a 9-year-old boy in Arkansas
*Aaron gave intestine/pancreas to a 56-year-old man in Pennsylvania

Additionally, the corneas of his eyes will be placed soon and will give sight to the blind. Powerfully, grafts of his skin will provide skin grafts for 200 children who have suffered severe burn or accidents.

Therefore, all of these people have become beneficiaries of Aaron’s death. While this brings the Webster family comfort, their hearts still break with major pain as anyone’s would in the loss of a child.

His family shared with me the other day: “While we prayed by his side for a miracle, we did not get our miracle, but others did.” Yes, many others received their miracles through Aaron’s death. Sitting in Texas, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, there were individuals and families praying for a miracle. Yes, God gave them their miracle. May it all bring God glory in this deep moment of loss and sadness for Aaron’s family. I cannot even imagine the pain they must feel. May God give them the power to praise Him in the midst of this storm.

Thank God for miracles that can happen, even through death.